"Can you tell me the what the governor's D.C. staff's responsibilities are?" — Dome reader GrayJ

North Carolina has had an office in Washington, D.C., since 1974.

Started by Gov. Jim Holshouser, the office is intended to serve as a liaison between state and federal government on important issues.

"The (office) allows North Carolina to be well represented in Washington so as to derive the most benefit — or, in some cases, to avoid the most harm — from decisions made there that affect us," wrote Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Beverly Perdue, in an e-mail.

Those issues include education, military affairs, economic development, environment and natural resources, revenue and tax matters.

The office is staffed by state employees. Currently it is headed by Jim McCleskey, who works directly for Perdue and served in the same job under former Gov. Mike Easley. In 2008, his annual salary was $91,846.

Other staffers are assigned by the N.C. departments of Health and Human Services, Transportation and Correction, all Cabinet agencies. Those staffers cover policy and appropriations issues for their departments as well as criminal justice, homeland security and emergency management issues.

The office is located three blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

Got a question? E-mail dome@newsobserver.com or post it in the comments below.